General Marketing

A beginner’s guide to video marketing: 3 types to help you get started

March 22, 2018

SHARE:

More and more brands and businesses are incorporating video into their marketing. Not only does video offer an opportunity to showcase yourself and your business in an authentic way, but it’s an effective way to capture the attention of potential customers in the social news feed, and it drives results. According to a 2017 Animoto survey, “64% of consumers say watching a marketing video on Facebook has influenced a purchase decision in the last month.”

But if you’re not using video yet, getting started may feel daunting. Rest assured, incorporating video into your marketing strategy is easier than you think. In fact, you likely already have everything you need make your first videos. What types of videos should you make? We’ve put together a list of three easy video types you can create for your business today.

#1: A video about your business

Of course, the first thing you’ll need is a video about your business. Who are you? What do you do? What are you selling? A video can be a fun way to showcase yourself and your product or service, and set you apart from your competitors. Here are some examples.

About Us

An “About Us” video is a short video that shares the background of you and your company—who you are and what you do. Some business owners choose to share their story by speaking to the camera, but you can also use text and a mix of photos of yourself and/or your product or service to create a video like the one below.

A video like this works well on an About page on your website, as a featured video on YouTube or your Facebook business page, or even looping in the window of your shop.

Product Video

You can also create a video showcasing a particular product, if you’re in the business of selling a product. Include photos of your product from different angles, or video clips to give a more complete view of your product in action.

As an alternative to the traditional product video, you can also share the story behind a product. When Nu-Era Bakery in West Virginia shared the story behind their pepperoni rolls on Facebook, it took off and resulted in so much demand that they started shipping. Check out the video below and, if it inspired you, use it as a template to create your own.

If you sell a service, rather than a product, you can create a video about that too, showcasing the benefits. This example could be used to target potential customers on social media.

These types of videos work well on a product or service page on your website, or as a social media ad, targeted at the right audience.

#2: A video showcasing your expertise

A video showcasing your expertise is great for a couple reasons. The first is that it establishes trust. When you use video to show that you are truly an expert in your field—whether it’s real estate, cooking, jewelry-making, design, or anything else—it’s encouraging to potential customers that are trying to decide whether they want to work with you or buy from you.

Expertise videos also help new customers discover you, particularly when you post your video to YouTube. When a potential customer is searching YouTube for terms related to your business, showing up in the results with a video answering their question helps you get on their radar.

Share a skill with a step-by-step tutorial, like the one below, share a list of tips, or record a presentation about your industry.

#3: An engaging video for social media

As we mentioned above, video is an effective way to capture the attention of potential customers in the social news feed and engage with them. Try creating a video to post on Facebook or Instagram to encourage conversation, shares, and reactions.

Here are some ideas. You’ll notice they are all square, as square is optimized for social media, taking up 78% more space in the news feed than a landscape video.

List Video

Everybody loves a list! Lists are not only are a fun way to share information around a very specific subject your target audience is interested in, but it also lets the viewer know exactly how much of their time it’ll take. Scrolling through the feed, a viewer may feel more comfortable stopping to watch a video of 5 tips or facts than a video of indeterminate time and subject matter. You can use the following video as a template for creating your own top 5 list.

Quote Video

Quotes can inspire, uplift, and motivate—and quote videos are among the easiest to create. Include a quote over a photo or video clip, or even just on a solid-color background, and you’re good to go. Here’s an example with a list of quotes, but you can make a video with any number of quotes, including just one.

When creating any type of video for social media, it’s important to keep your audience in mind. Ask yourself whether the topic is something that they’d be interested in.

Ready to get started? Just dive in. The more videos you create, the better you’ll begin to understand your audience and what resonates with them, and the more success you’ll see. Happy video making!

Animoto makes it easy for business owners to create professional videos for social media. Get started and create your own using the video templates featured in this article.